1945–1953: Early career Beginning in 1945, and for the next two years, Andrews performed spontaneously and unbilled on stage with her parents. "Then came the day when I was told I must go to bed in the afternoon because I was going to be allowed to sing with Mummy and Pop in the evening", Andrews explained. During her initial shows, Andrews stood on a beer crate to sing into the microphone, performing a solo or a duet with her stepfather, while her mother played piano. She later stated that "it must have been ghastly, but it seemed to go down all right". Fellow child entertainer
Petula Clark, three years her senior, recalled touring around the UK by train to sing for the troops alongside Andrews; they slept in the luggage racks. Clark later said "It was fun—and not a lot of kids were having fun". Andrews had her career breakthrough when her stepfather introduced her to managing director
Val Parnell, whose
Moss Empires controlled prominent performance venues in London. At the age of 12, Andrews made her professional solo debut at the
London Hippodrome, singing the difficult aria "Je suis Titania" from
Mignon as part of a musical
revue, called "Starlight Roof", on 22 October 1947. She played at the Hippodrome for one year. Of her role in "Starlight Roof", Andrews recalled: "There was this wonderful American person and comedian,
Wally Boag, who made balloon animals. He would say, 'Is there any little girl or boy in the audience who would like one of these?' And I would rush up onstage and say, 'I'd like one, please.' And then he would chat to me and I'd tell him I sang. ... I was fortunate in that I absolutely stopped the show cold. I mean, the audience went crazy." On 1 November 1948, a thirteen-year-old Andrews became the youngest solo performer ever to be seen in a
Royal Variety Performance before
King George VI and
Queen Elizabeth at the
London Palladium. Andrews performed alongside singer
Danny Kaye, dancers the
Nicholas Brothers, and the comedy team
George and Bert Bernard. Andrews subsequently followed her parents into radio and television. She performed in musical interludes of the
BBC Light Programme comedy show
Up the Pole and was a cast member in
Educating Archie, from 1950 to 1952. Andrews appeared on
West End theatre at the
London Casino, where she played one year each as Princess
Badroulbadour in
Aladdin and the egg in
Humpty Dumpty. Andrews also appeared on provincial stages in
Jack and the Beanstalk and
Little Red Riding Hood, as well as starring as the lead role in
Cinderella.
1954–1962: Broadway, My Fair Lady and television ventures meets
Rex Harrison as Professor Henry Higgins in
My Fair Lady, the musical adaptation of
Pygmalion. On 30 September 1954, the eve of her 19th birthday, Andrews made her
Broadway debut as Polly Browne in the London musical
The Boy Friend. Eve Benda recognised her special talent and predicted her stardom. Andrews was anxious about moving to New York; at the time, she was both breadwinner and caretaker for her family, and took the part upon her father's encouragement. She was offered the part during her third reading. Andrews describes her performances as Eliza as "the great learning period" of her life. The show was broadcast live in colour from CBS Studio 72, at Broadway and 81st Street in New York: CBS' only East Coast colour studio. In 1957, Andrews released her debut solo album,
The Lass with the Delicate Air, which harked back to her British music hall days. The album includes performances of English folk songs as well as the World War II anthem, "
London Pride", a patriotic song written by
Noël Coward in 1941 during
the Blitz, which Andrews herself had survived. Between 1956 and 1962, Andrews guest-starred on
The Ed Sullivan Show (15 July 1956), and also appeared on
The Dinah Shore Chevy Show, ''
What's My Line?, The Jack Benny Program, The Bell Telephone Hour, and The Garry Moore Show. In June 1962, Andrews co-starred in Julie and Carol at Carnegie Hall, a CBS special with Carol Burnett. In 1960, Lerner and Loewe again cast her in a period musical as Queen Guinevere in Camelot, along with Richard Burton (as King Arthur) and newcomer Robert Goulet. Andrews called the work "monumental" due to the heavy set costuming and detailed literary themes. Andrews later reflected that she understood her experience on Broadway "was within a very small pond" but wished she had been able to record her performance for posterity. After the birth of her daughter, she received a call from P. L. Travers, author of the Mary Poppins'' book series, who told her, "Well, you're much too pretty of course. But you've got the nose for it." The film was nominated for thirteen
Academy Awards and won five, including the
Academy Award for Best Actress for Andrews's performance. She also received the
Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Comedy or Musical, while Andrews and her co-stars won the 1965
Grammy Award for Best Album for Children. As a measure of "sweet revenge", as
Poppins songwriter
Richard M. Sherman put it, Andrews closed her acceptance speech at the Golden Globes by saying, "And, finally, my thanks to a man who made a wonderful movie and who made all this possible in the first place, Mr. Jack Warner."
My Fair Lady was in direct competition for the awards. in
The Sound of Music (1965) Andrews starred opposite
James Garner in the comedy-drama war film
The Americanization of Emily (1964). Andrews was nominated for the
BAFTA Award for Best British Actress in a Leading Role. Andrews later described it as her favourite film, a sentiment shared by her co-star Garner. Andrews starred in
The Sound of Music (1965), which was the highest-grossing film of its year. Andrews later said she was "ashamed" to admit that she thought the musical "rather saccharine" before being cast. For her performance as
Maria von Trapp, Andrews won her second Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Comedy or Musical. She was nominated a second time for the
Academy Award for Best Actress and the BAFTA Award for Best British Actress in a Leading Role. Andrews later wrote that the "gift" and "privilege" of portraying her first three film roles would have been "enough to satisfy" her for a lifetime. The following year, Andrews played the titular character in
Thoroughly Modern Millie (1967). Andrews described work on the film as a "pleasant distraction" for "allowing her to be something of a clown", as her stepfather died shortly before filming. The film was nominated for seven Academy Awards, and Andrews scored a Golden Globe nomination for her performance. At the time,
Thoroughly Modern Millie and
Torn Curtain were the biggest and second-biggest hits in
Universal Pictures history, respectively.
1968–1996: Collaborations with Blake Edwards and Andrews kissing in
Darling Lili (1970) Andrews next appeared in two of Hollywood's most expensive flops:
Star! (1968), a biopic of
Gertrude Lawrence; and
Darling Lili (1970), co-starring
Rock Hudson and directed by her second husband,
Blake Edwards. Andrews "went through her usual period of insecurity" during the production of
Star!, intensely analysing her choices for the character. Despite reviews, her performance was once again nominated for Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Comedy or Musical. Andrews regards her friendships with Kidd and director
Robert Wise as her "greatest gifts" from the film. She was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Comedy or Musical, while the film won both the
Golden Globe and
Academy Awards for Best Original Song. Of these films, Andrews later wrote that "nonstop success in a career is impossible [...] but nobody sets out to make a failure, either". Andrews continued working in television. In 1969, she shared the spotlight with singer
Harry Belafonte for an NBC-TV special,
An Evening with Julie Andrews and Harry Belafonte. In 1971, she appeared as a guest for the Grand Opening Special of Walt Disney World, and that same year she and Carol Burnett headlined a CBS special,
Julie and Carol At Lincoln Center. In 1972–73, Andrews starred in her own television variety series,
The Julie Andrews Hour, on the
ABC network. The show won seven Emmy Awards but was cancelled after one season. Between 1973 and 1975, Andrews continued her association with ABC by headlining five variety specials for the network. She guest-starred on
The Muppet Show in 1977, and the following year, she appeared again with the Muppets on a CBS television variety special. The programme,
Julie Andrews: One Step Into Spring, aired in March 1978, to mixed reviews and mediocre ratings. She made only two other films in the 1970s,
The Tamarind Seed (1974) and
10 (1979), both successful at the box office and by critics' reviews. In February 1980, Andrews headlined "Because We Care", a CBS-TV special with 30 major stars raising funds for Cambodian Famine victims through Operation California (now Operation USA, on whose Board she serves). Later that year, she starred in
Little Miss Marker as "
English rose" Amanda Worthington (a label she had first been given in the 1960s). In Blake Edwards's
S.O.B. (1981), she played Sally Miles, a character who agrees to "show my boobies" in a scene in the film-within-a-film. A dual role of Victoria Grant and Count Victor Grezhinski in the film
Victor/Victoria (1982) reunited her with Garner once again. Her performance earned her a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Comedy or Musical, as well as a nomination for the 1982 Academy Award for Best Actress, her third Oscar nomination. In 1983, Andrews was chosen as the
Hasty Pudding Woman of the Year by the
Harvard University Theatrical Society. That year, she co-starred with
Burt Reynolds in
The Man Who Loved Women. Her next two films were ''
That's Life! and Duet for One (both 1986), which earned her Golden Globe nominations. In December 1987, Andrews starred in an ABC Christmas special, Julie Andrews: The Sound Of Christmas'', which went on to win five Emmy Awards. Two years later, she was reunited for the third time with Carol Burnett for a variety special which aired on ABC in December 1989. In 1991, Andrews made her television dramatic debut in the ABC made-for-TV film,
Our Sons, co-starring
Ann-Margret. Andrews was named a
Disney Legend within the year. In the summer of 1992, Andrews starred in her first television sitcom; the short-lived
Julie aired on ABC for only seven episodes and co-starred
James Farentino. In December 1992 she hosted the
NBC holiday special,
Christmas In Washington. Having played a Cockney flower seller in
My Fair Lady, Andrews had an orangey-salmon pink rose named after her at London's
Chelsea Flower Show in 1992. Stating she was "ever so flattered", portions of the sales of the "Julie Andrews Rose" were donated to charity. In 1993, she starred in a limited run at the
Manhattan Theatre Club in the American premiere of
Stephen Sondheim's revue,
Putting It Together. Between 1994 and 1995, Andrews recorded two solo albums – the first saluted the music of Richard Rodgers and the second paid tribute to the words of Alan Jay Lerner. In 1995, she starred in the stage musical version of
Victor/Victoria. It was her first appearance in a Broadway show in 35 years. Opening on Broadway on 25 October 1995 at the
Marquis Theatre, it later went on the road for a world tour. When she was the only
Tony Award nominee for the production, she declined the nomination saying that she could not accept because she felt the entire production was snubbed.
1997–present: Children's entertainment and later roles A botched vocal surgery in 1997 led to the loss of Andrews's singing voice, occasioning her refusal to sing on camera for several years. In 2002, Andrews was among the guests at the Queen's
Golden Jubilee Hollywood party held at the
Beverly Wilshire Hotel. She also appears at No.59 on the 2002 poll of the "
100 Greatest Britons" sponsored by the
BBC and chosen by the British public. '' In 2001, Andrews received
Kennedy Center Honors. The same year, she reunited with
Sound of Music co-star
Christopher Plummer in a live television performance of
On Golden Pond (an adaptation of
the 1979 play). Andrews appeared in
The Princess Diaries, her first Disney film since
Mary Poppins. She starred as Queen Clarisse Marie Renaldi and reprised the role in the 2004 sequel,
The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement. In the film, Andrews sang on film for the first time since having throat surgery. The song, "
Your Crowning Glory", a duet with
Raven-Symoné, was set in a limited range of an octave to accommodate her recovering voice. The film's music supervisor, Dawn Soler, recalled that Andrews "nailed the song on the first take. I looked around and I saw
grips with tears in their eyes". In 2004, Andrews voiced
Queen Lillian in the animated blockbuster
Shrek 2 (2004), reprising the role for its sequels,
Shrek the Third (2007) and
Shrek Forever After (2010). Also in 2007, she narrated
Enchanted, a live-action Disney musical comedy that both parodied and paid homage to Disney films. On 1 May 2005, Disneyland debuted a new fireworks show,
Remember... Dreams Come True, for Disneyland's 50th anniversary, with Andrews being the host and narrator of the show. In January 2007, Andrews was honoured with the Lifetime Achievement Award at the
Screen Actors Guild's awards and stated that her goals included continuing to direct for the stage and possibly to produce her own
Broadway musical. where she sang various Rodgers and Hammerstein songs and symphonised her recently published book, ''Simeon's Gift
. Appearances included the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles, the Mann Center for the Performing Arts in Philadelphia, and a performance with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra. These were her first public singing performances in a dozen years, due to her failed vocal cord surgery. In January 2009, Andrews was named on The Times''' list of the top 10 British Actresses of all time. The list included
Helen Mirren,
Helena Bonham Carter,
Judi Dench, and Audrey Hepburn. Also in 2009, Andrews received the honorary
George and
Ira Gershwin Award for Lifetime Musical Achievement. In January 2010, Andrews was the official United States presenter for the
Great Performances ''From
Vienna: The New Year's Celebration 2010'' concert. This was her second appearance in this role, after presenting the previous year's concert. Andrews also had a supporting role in the film
Tooth Fairy, which opened to unfavourable reviews although the box office receipts were successful. On her promotion tour for the film, she also spoke of
Operation USA and the aid campaign to the
Haiti disaster. at
University of Southern California On 8 May 2010, Andrews made her London comeback after a 21-year absence (her last performance there was a Christmas concert at the
Royal Festival Hall in 1989). She performed at
The O2 Arena, accompanied by the
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and an ensemble of five performers. Earlier (on 15 December 2009 and on many other occasions), she appeared on British television saying that rumours that she would be singing at the performance were not true and that she would be doing a form of "
speak singing". However, she sang two solos and several duets and ensemble pieces. The evening, though well received by the 20,000 fans present, who gave her standing ovation after standing ovation, did not convince the critics. On 21 May 2010, her film
Shrek Forever After was released; in it Andrews reprises her role as the Queen. On 9 July 2010,
Despicable Me, an animated film in which Andrews lent her voice to Marlena Gru, the thoughtless and soul-crushing mother of the main character Gru (voiced by
Steve Carell), opened to rave reviews and strong box office. On 28 October 2010, Andrews appeared, along with the actors who portrayed the cinematic von Trapp family members, on
Oprah to commemorate the film's 45th anniversary. A few days later, her 24th book,
Little Bo in Italy, was published. , Australia in 2013 In February 2011, Andrews received a
Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award and, with her daughter Emma, a Grammy for
Best Spoken Word Album for Children (for
A Collection of Poems, Songs and Lullabies), at the
53rd Grammy Awards. In her memoir,
Home Work (2019), Andrews discussed being offered the role of Aunt Emma by
Martin Scorsese for his film
The Wolf of Wall Street (2013). She declined, citing a recent surgery and saying she wasn't "ready to go back to work" but "would've loved to have done it". At the age of 77, Andrews undertook her first tour of Australia and New Zealand in 2013, hosted by
Nicholas Hammond who was a boy of 14 when they appeared together in
The Sound of Music. In place of singing, she planned a series of speaking engagements in Australia's five mainland state capitals. The following year she took the show on a tour of England, which was hosted by
Aled Jones. The tour began with a May date at the
National Indoor Arena in Birmingham and included an appearance at the
Echo Arena in Liverpool. Andrews has twice directed a musical stage adaptation of
The Great American Mousical, based on the 2006 children's book she wrote with her daughter Emma. The musical was written by
Zina Goldrich (music) and
Marcy Heisler (lyrics), with book by
Hunter Bell. Andrews first directed the play for its premiere in 2012 at
Goodspeed Musicals'
Norma Terris Theatre in
Chester, Connecticut. This became a social media sensation, trending all over the world.
Lyndon Terracini announced in August 2015 that Andrews would direct
My Fair Lady in 2016 for
Opera Australia at the
Sydney Opera House. In 2016, Andrews created the preschool television series ''
Julie's Greenroom with her daughter, Emma, and Judy Rothman. Andrews is joined by her assistant Gus (Giullian Yao Gioiello) and "Greenies", a cast of original puppets built by The Jim Henson Company. The series premiered on Netflix in 2017. In 2017, Andrews also reprised her role as Marlena Gru in the second Despicable Me
sequel Despicable Me 3''. In 2018, Andrews voiced Karathen, a
leviathan, in
James Wan's
Aquaman. That same year, she declined a cameo appearance in
Mary Poppins Returns to avoid stealing the limelight now belonging to star
Emily Blunt. '' Festival of Books in April 2012. Beginning in December 2020, Andrews voiced the narrator Lady Whistledown in the Netflix period drama series
Bridgerton. In 2022, Andrews narrated the film ''
The King's Daughter'' for
Gravitas Ventures. She recorded her narration in 2020. A few weeks later she was announced to be the narrator. On 9 June 2022, Andrews was honoured by the
American Film Institute with a Lifetime Achievement Award, where she reflected on her career and received tributes by multiple artists. The same year, she reprised her role as Gru's mother in
Minions: The Rise of Gru. In April 2023, Andrews participated in the NBC primetime special
Carol Burnett: 90 Years of Laughter + Love where she paid tribute to her friend Carol Burnett. The same year, she also made a featured taped appearance on the primetime CBS special
Dick Van Dyke: 98 Years of Magic, wherein she told the story of working alongside Van Dyke in the 1964 film
Mary Poppins. In September 2025, Andrews won an Emmy for her voicework as Lady Whistledown on
Bridgerton. == Personal life ==